BITTER CHRISTMAS (AMARGA NAVIDAD) Special Screenings

BITTER CHRISTMAS (AMARGA NAVIDAD)

Eye-popping sweaters and interiors, the dramatic effect of a Chavela Vargas song, the sizzling screen presence of Rossy de Palma. Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar plays the hits before smashing his own playbook in this brilliant piece of autofiction, following the parallel stories of two self-obsessed filmmakers who contemplate the limits of inspiration. Bárbara Lennie is Elsa, a cult filmmaker whose string of flops caused her to transition into a powerful advertising executive. Suffering from splitting migraines, she relies on the care of her dedicated boyfriend, Bonifacio (Patrick Criado), a strapping firefighter who moonlights as an exotic dancer. The spark of a story, stolen from a friend, is perhaps the cure for her long creative drought. Argentine actor Leonardo Sbaraglia (PAIN AND GLORY) is Raúl, an Almodóvar stand-in with the iconic tousled tuft of gray hair, who is nursing his own artistic demons. He struggles to write his new screenplay until he latches onto the real-life drama of his faithful assistant, Mónica (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, PARALLEL MOTHERS, AFI FEST 2021) and his devoted younger partner, Santi (Quim Gutiérrez). A Russian nesting doll of stories within stories, Almodóvar’s excavation of creative impulses continues his late career trend of extremely personal and introspective films that dare to question his own filmmaking process. –Josh Gardner

Pedro Almodóvar left his small town for Madrid as a teenager to realize his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Arriving with few prospects, he secured “proper” employment at the National Telephone Company of Spain, which allowed him to purchase his first Super 8 camera. For the next 12 years, Almodóvar split his time between this serious day job and crazy nights collaborating with theatre groups and punk bands, writing for underground magazines and making short films with his friends. In 1980, after a year and a half of filming on a shoestring budget, Almodóvar made his feature length debut with PEPI, LUCI, BOM AND OTHER GIRLS LIKE MOM. Since then, he has never stopped writing and directing films, which include the Academy Award® winners ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER and TALK TO HER.

Chloe Kantor
Sony Pictures Classics
Chloe_Kantor@spe.sony.com

MEMBERS & PASSHOLDERS

Screenings

October 24, 11:00 a.m.

Chinese 1

Details

Country: Spain

Year: 2026

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar

Producer: Agustín Almodóvar

Executive Producer: Esther García

Director of Photography: Pau Esteve Birba

Editor: Teresa Font

Production Designer: Antxon Gómez

Costume Designer: Paco Delgado

Music: Alberto Iglesias

Cast/Featuring: Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado

Running Time (minutes): 111

Language: Spanish

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